When I interviewed Dr. Craig Johnson of the Eating Recovery Center in Denver in 2010, he told me a surprising statistic:

“The average adolescent patient coming in for eating disorder treatment is reporting an average of 4.2 hours of sleep per night.”

According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens need about 9.25 hours of sleep each night to function at their best. Yet most teens do not get enough sleep. One study found that only 15% reported sleeping 8 1/2 hours on school nights.*

In addition, recent studies at Mayo Clinic show that getting more quality sleep may also have a positive effect on the body’s glucose and insulin levels. In fact, researchers are suggesting that lack of sleep is also linked to weight gain in some cases. In such a fast-paced, over-worked society it is difficult to find five hours to slow down — let alone 9 or 10. But research is starting to show that proper sleep could help resolve complications like obesity, diabetes and hypertension.

One thing is clear, sleep is one of the most overlooked ways to nourish our bodies.

“Ninety-nine percent of people who think they only need five hours of sleep a night are actually hurting themselves,” said Dr. Lee Green of the department of family medicine at the University of Alberta in Canada.**

Robyn Hussa is the Author and Editor of the We Are The Real Deal blog universe and Founder and CEO of the NORMAL nonprofit. She is a national speaker on the topics of body image, eating disorders and mindfulness. Learn more…